Alerted Snakes of Consequence
by bmatsea
Summary: During the battle with the Angel Leliel, both Shinji and Rei are absorbed. When they awake they find themselves not only not in their universe, but with no apparent way home. This begins their journey. Helping new friends, fixing what once was wrong, Always hoping that their next transition will be the one home. Massive crossover. ideas taken from Sliders and Quantum Leap.
1. Chapter 1

Alerted Snakes of Consequence

By: BMATSEA

Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion, The Seikai Trilogy, any other anime, or book characters. They are the property of their copyright owners and are being used without permission. Also, I want to say 'thank you' to Pat Cadigan. I borrowed, without permission, the title of this from her book "Mindplayers".

* * *

Chapter 1

Shinji screamed for someone to help him as he slowly sank into the "shadow" of the 12th angel.

"Rei… Asuka…. Misato… ANYONE… Help me. I can't get free. It's got me."

Rei was torn. On one hand was the one person that actually talked to her, not just at her but to her, the one she had promised to protect with her life if need be. And that very person was slowly being sucked into the angel. On the other hand was her sense of duty to follow her orders, to retreat to a safe distance from the angel, from Major Katsuragi.

Shinji screams became more frantic as he sunk ever lower.

"I can't feel my legs… get me out of here… Rei… Asuka… Help Me… I don't want to die."

Rei quickly came to a decision. She tossed down her weapon that Unit-00 was holding and ran up to the edge of the shadow. Grabbing Unit-01's power lead and throwing it over Unit-00's shoulder she turned and started to try and pull Unit-01 out of its murky grave.

"Rei, what are you doing?" yelled Misato. "I told you to get out of there and retreat to a safe distance."

"I will not let him die, Major. I made a promise," Rei stated in her quiet voice.

"Rei, do as you are ordered," Gendo's cold as ice voice came over the radio. "I will not repeat myself. Understood?"

"I un-" the rest of what she was going to say was interrupted by Shinji voice's calling out to her.

"Rei, you're doing it! I'm pulling free! Wha-"

Rei felt a quick unexpected brief slacking of the lead, causing her and Eva Unit-00 to stumble in its step. In that half second required to keep herself from slipping, the Angel attacked once again, slipping its deadly shadow under her Unit's feet. Slowly, it began to deliver upon the blue behemoth the same fate it had to its purple counterpart.

"Ikari… Shinji…Forgive me…I could not protect you as I had promised…" Rei whispered as she watched Unit-01 slip out of sight into the angel. A few minute later Rei's Unit suffered the same treatment.

* * *

Rei and Shinji slowly opened their eyes.

"Unfamiliar ceiling…" Shinji said

"Yes, it is."

"Do you think they painted it for us?"

Both children were staring up at a pale blue ceiling that appeared to be metal.

"No, I do not believe so. The color does not appear to be fresh, Ikari."

Shinji started to sit up, but didn't manage to get very far before his body began its protests against the sudden movement. He did however get far enough up to be able to look around the room. If he didn't know any better he might have sworn that he and Rei were on the set of an old Star Trek episode. His ringing ears dully registered the steady rhythm of the beeping monitors above his and Rei's heads in the background.

"Uh, Rei, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," Shinji stated as he stared about the room.

"We were never in Kansas, Ikari," Rei replied, slightly mystified by the unfamiliar reference as she to attempted to raise herself up enough to get a good look at her surroundings.

The boy blushed slightly in embarrassment. "Gomen, I was trying to make a joke."

Turning his head to look over at Rei, he failed to notice the new figures enter from behind him. Rei, on the other hand, had a perfect view of them over his shoulder. And to say the least she was quite surprised.

Shinji caught the slight widening of Rei's eyes and asked her. "W-What's wrong?"

"I believe you might want to turn around slowly, Ikari."

"Why?" he asked, appearing quite puzzled by her statement.

"Because I do not appear to be unique anymore. Turn around."

To be continued…..

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Author Rant

Please review (be gentle, I'm a virgin at this). Also no pre-reader was harmed in the writing of this chapter. At least not that I know of.

Dean


	2. Chapter 2 - A new world

Alerted Snakes of Consequence

I don't own any rights to any anime/TV/other titles whom I might steal ideas from. Please don't sue me. I'm in the military and have kids and that means I'm dirt poor. Really.

Chapter 2

Key:

"Speech"

'Thought'

**- Hospital room - **

"Because I do not appear to be unique anymore. Turn around."

He started talking as he turned his head slowly in the direction that Rei was looking. "What are you talking about, of course you're…," but he didn't finish as the figures came into view. For a moment Shinji seriously thought that he was still asleep, going crazy, seeing thing, or a combination of the three.

Three figures stood by what might have been a door. All were dressed in what looked like some type of military uniform. The uniforms themselves looked like a simple one-piece jumper made of a dark blue material. A set of rugged, knee high, black boots topped off with a jacket with a lighter blue front panel and a simple belt completed the outfit. The buckle on the belt appeared to be gold, and had a simple crest of a half maple leaf, which appeared to be very much like the NERV symbol, and some form of writing that neither Shinji nor Rei could make out. The only difference in the uniforms was the piping color (red on two and white on the third) along the edge of the jacket and what appeared to be some type of ranking pips on the collars.

As for the figures, well that was where, in Shinji's opinion, it just got plain weird. Well, weirder than normal for him at least. It was like looking into a mirror and seeing a reflection of himself and Rei, that is if mirrors could age someone by 10 years. The other figure was kind of more normal-looking, and might have been anyone; if you were to discount the pointed ears, purple eyes, and long dark blue hair that ended around the woman's waist.

The older version of Shinji started to step forward but was stopped by the older version of Rei.

"My precious Ryuf, do you think it's safe to expose yourself to them like this?" she stated in a calm, quiet voice underlined with concern.

"My beloved Rei, calm your fears," he consoled her as he took hold of her hand and gave it a slight squeeze.

'Precious?! Beloved?!' both Shinji and Rei thought as they quickly turned to look at each other, blushing.

Then, not letting go of her hand, the older Shinji stepped forward to examine Shinji and Rei as they lay nervously in their respective beds. He looked them over for several minutes before turning to the third woman.

"Gosk lan Medtech, are you sure that these two are not clones of Feia bel Rei and myself?" he queried.

"Feia, the male shows no visible markers, either externally or genetically, of being a clone. The female shows only the normal fluctuations, common to all first generation Abh, and no clone markings at all." The woman with the long blue hair and white piping answered.

Shinji's mouth dropped open at this, and he turned his gaze back to his Rei and looked at her. Rei for her part simply looked at him and nodded her head just slightly, confirming to Shinji that at least some part of what had been said was true.

"I see… So you're saying that these two persons are somehow younger versions of myself and Feia bel Rei?"

"Yes, Feia, that is what is being said."

"Very well, you may leave. Thank you for you services," the older Shinji said, dismissing the woman with a casual wave.

"By your command, Feia Luel," the woman replied before bowing and excusing herself from the room.

After the door had slid shut behind her, the older Shinji turned back to the children sitting up in the beds. He studied them a little more before turning to the older Rei and commenting, "It's really amazing, isn't it? I just don't remember looking that good at that age. Oh well, such is youth." He sighed before continuing. "Now, at least, we know why they were in the copies of Yui and Naoko. But that still doesn't explain how they got here, or why I am now in the possession of two new Eva units."

"Excuse me," interrupted a slightly annoyed Shinji, "but Rei and I are still in the room, you know."

At this the older Shinji turned and glared disapprovingly at him. Blanching at the glare, Shinji expelled an apologetic "Sorry" and turned his head away to stare at the floor guiltily.

Holding his hand up in a calming gesture, the older Shinji replied. "No offense taken, it's my fault for ignoring you two. I'm sure this is quite a strange situation for the both of you."

Walking up next to the older Shinji, the older Rei lightly placed her hand on his elbow. Turning her head slightly she looked up at his face and said in a soft voice, "Remember your position, anata." (A/N: In case you didn't know, "anata" means "dear" or "beloved" in Japanese.)

"Yes, yes, I remember." The older Shinji smiled and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead.

"I really hate to interrupt, but…" Shinji started, but was himself interrupted by the soft voice of his Rei. "Who are you?"

The older Shinji took the interruption and question in stride. Turning back to face the two children, he bowed his head slightly. "Sorry about that. Let me introduce ourselves. I am Ryuf Shinji Ikari, and this is my wife Feia Bel Rei Ikari. Before you ask the next obvious question let me answer it now." Taking a deep breath, he took a quick look at his Rei then continued. "You two are currently inside Castle NERV, my stronghold and capital, which is situated in the city of Tokyo-3, Nippon prefecture."

He let this information sink in for a second. Then he straightened his posture and his voice became more serious as his eyes narrowed slightly. "That's enough about us for now. You'll learn more later, most likely. Right now I do want to know who you two might be, and how you came to be inside the Evangelion units."

For just a brief second both Shinji and Rei were taken aback. The thought, 'He looks like my father/Commander Ikari' ran though both their minds as they looked over at each other.

Gulping down his fear, Shinji turned back to face what was possibly his older self. 'I mustn't run away. Heck, what the hell am I thinking?! Where can I even run to?' Finally, after a short pause, he answered.

"I am Shinji Ikari, and this is Rei Ayanami," he stated, gesturing at his companion. After pausing to take a breath, he continued. "We are, respectively, the designated pilots of the Evangelion Units 01 and 00. As to how we got here, I have absolutely no idea."

**- Meanwhile back home - **

Misato was franticly pacing back and forth in the command center. Filled with grief and worry, her mind was in chaos, over the fate of Shinji and Rei within the angel. She turned to look at her friend Ritsuko, who was leaning over the shoulder of the bridge bunny Maya Ibuki.

"We have to get them back, Rits, safe and sound," her voice choking up with unsuppressed emotion. "Even if they shut down their Evas and are just relying on life support, they only have three hours left."

Ritsuko whispered something into the ear of Maya. Then stood up and faced the frantically pacing Major. "Calm down, Misato," she said as walked over and grabbed Misato to stop her from pacing. "We will get them back. Maya and I have a plan that should work… in theory."

"OH REALLY, and I suppose that you think dropping N2 mines into that thing would work?!"

"Yes. I believe that with Asuka using her AT field to help draw out the core, and then dropping the N2 mines on it should work. I think that once the core is destroyed, the Sea of Dirac should collapse thus forcing Shinji and Rei to return."

"But what about the children's safety in all of this? What happens if it doesn't work?"

"The return of the Evas is the top priority, Major, not the safety of the pil-" Gendo started in his cold, hard voice, only to be interrupted by a shout from one of the other bridge bunnies.

"We are detecting three energy spikes, two from within the angel and one from a nearby building," Shigeru Aoba yelled from his position.

"What?!" shouted both Misato and Ritsuko. They in turn ran up to see what was going on.

"Sempai, we've got another problem. The Magi are detecting an intruder in the system," yelled Maya.

"Maya, start the countermeasures!" Ritsuko commanded as she moved behind her.

"Hyuuga, you pinpoint that third energy spike. Aoba, continue to monitor the Angel," Misato stated as her training kicked in. "Asuka, what's going on out there?"

Worriedly Asuka answered, "I don't see anything out here." She paused for a second, and then continued with more anger in her voice. "Just the damn Angel sitting over there looking all smug. No wait… something's going on…"

**- Outside, Downtown Tokyo-3 - **

Asuka moved her Eva closer to the Angel. Before her very own eyes, the zebra-striped Angel began to shake and change in color, the black and white merging into an unsettling shade of grey. Cracks started appearing all along the side of the angel. Then, without warning, a hand burst forth, spraying the Angel's blue blood across the cityscape of downtown Tokyo-3.

"Mien Gott," whispered Asuka, in awe, as the gruesome scene in front of her continued to unfold.

The first hand was quickly followed and a second and then a third. Each hand grabbed a side of the crack and seemed to push widening the hole farther. As the hole widened, two female voices began to crackle faintly over the pilot's private comm. line, and quickly gained strength.

"Geez, Teri, can't you push anymore?" asked the first voice.

"Get off my back, Minagi, you try pushing with one hand while holding an overgrown dodge ball in the other," stated the second.

The cracks slowly widened until the Angel was literally ripped in half. With that two strangely colored Eva units fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. As Asuka looked on, the Units started struggling to stand up. One seemed to be having more trouble than the other due to the fact it had a round ball-like object clutched to its chest by one arm.

"Hey you, give us a hand standing up, will ya?" asked the second voice.

"Who, me?" asked a very confused Asuka.

"Yes you, who else besides us is here?"

"Um… Ok," Asuka said as she walked her Eva over to help.

**- NERV Command Center - **

"Sempai, the attack on the Magi has just stopped," an extremely confused Maya reported.

"Did the countermeasures work?"

"Unknown."

"Energy readings have also stopped. I wasn't able to pinpoint the location," said a disappointed Hyuuga.

"Angel has gone silent." Aoba stated, as he looked up form his display. He turned to look at Misato when his eye caught something strange on the overhead display, which normally had the pilot's stats up. It still did but there was new information up as well. "Umm, Major, who do those belong to?"

Misato turned to stare at what Aoba was pointing at. "Who belongs to what?"

There on the main display were the pilot's life signs. For Shinji and Rei the lines were flat due to the missing readings, Asuka was still reading normal, if not a little elevated. But the most surprising was the two new displays. Both were marked as - Unknown Pilot, Eva Unit Unknown -

Misato looked over to an equally shocked Ritsuko.

Before Misato could ask anything the radio cracked to like. "NERV Command, NERV Command, Come in over. This is Commander Yui Ikari. Respond over."

Gendo upon hearing this jumped up form his seat and slammed his fist down on a button on his desk. In uncharacteristic display of emotion, he angrily stated, "This is NERV Command. Who is this really?"

"Well," the voice paused and a sharp intake of breath could be heard. "WHO IN THE BLOODY HECK ELSE WOULD IT BE BUT YOUR BOSS, THE COMMANDER OF NERV, YUI IKARI?! WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR NAME MISTER?! BECAUSE WHEN I GET BACK THERE, YOU'RE MINCE MEAT!" a very pissed off sounding woman shouted back.

"Woot, you tell him grandma," broke in a younger sounding voice.

"Ph34r her L33T 5k1lls, mister! Grams, can I watch?" spoke a second young voice.

"Girls, Can It," the voice claiming to be Yui ordered.

"Yes, Grandmother," the two voices said in unison.

A very stunned Gendo flopped back down into his chair, and stared at the speaker that the voices had come from.

Fuyutsuki, Gendo's second in command, leaned over and said, "Well if that is Yui, then I think you might just be in trouble," before covering his mouth with his hand to hide the smile spreading across his face.

Turning to glare up at his friend and second in command, Gendo replied, "Take care of the recovery operations. I want to see whoever they are in MY office as soon as they are able."

"Yes, Sir," Fuyutsuki said, as Gendo got up and walked out. As soon as the door closed, he couldn't keep the laughter back anymore. Then, turning to the rest of the bridge crew, he commanded, "You heard him, commence recovery operations. Oh, and Major… treat whoever that is with the utmost respect."

"Aye, aye, capt'n," the major replied. Then turned to her crew, "Let's get to work, people, Commander Ikari is waiting on us." Picking up the radio she called out, "All Eva pilots report to the nearest elevators for recovery. Commander Ikari, State your current location and we'll send a car out for you."

"Roger," replied the pilots.

"General Misato, is that you?" came the voice of Yui. "What are you doing there? Where's my son Dr. Shinji Ikari or Major Maya Ibuki the TAO?"

"Ma'am, I'm sure everything will be explained when you get back." '…I hope.'

To be continued…

* * *

**Author's notes**

Since I borrowed a few words form "Banner of the Stars", I figured that I should at least tell you what is being said.

Abh – A race of genetically-created people. They typically have blue hair. (For more information check out the trilogy "Banner of the Stars" or "Crest of the Stars".)

Feia – Highness

Feia Bel – Viscountess

Feia Luel – Your Highness

Gosk lan – Vassal

Ryuf – Baron


	3. Chapter 3 - Love in the air?

Alerted Snakes of Consequence

DISCLAIMER: Blah, blah, blah, **don't own**, blah, blah, **please don't sue**, blah, blah, **no money**. I think that covers it.

Chapter 3

Key

"Blah, blah, blah" – spoken

'Blah, blah, blah' – thoughts

**- Time, setting, etc. -**

- Written down stuff -

(AN: Blah, blah, blah) – Stuff I say

* * *

**- Geo-Front, Ryuf Ikari's Garden -**

Three days had passed, as near as Rei could figure, since the moment she and Shinji had arrived in this mysterious new world. The last two, of which, had been very busy for the two children. Each of them had to endure a battery of tests and debriefings. Still, beyond everything else, they ended up with a lot of free time for themselves. Rei was not someone who usually liked down time, but she started to find the time off enjoyable. Especially when spent in the company of either Shinji or her alternate self the Feia bel.

Both Ryuf and Feia bel were kind and generous people. Especially the Ryuf, who, true to his word, told them that they had the run of the castle. Feia bel even told all of the staff that Rei and Shinji were to be treated as royalty.

During a free moment, Shinji had asked the Ryuf, "Why?" Smiling, the Ryuf had ruffled Shinji's hair and said, "How else am I to treat someone who is basically my alternate self?"

Shinji, who had been exploring the gardens, eventually came upon Rei… and had to stop and stare. Rei was sitting on a marble bench in one of the most beautiful gardens he had ever seen. Despite the breath-taking scenery around her, Rei was staring up at the blue sky through the gigantic hole in the top of the Geo-Front. 'Beautiful,' he thought as Rei reached up and off-handedly brushed a few stray locks of hair from her face.

"Uh, hi," he said as he walked up to her. Rei didn't even look at him as she replied, "Good afternoon, Shinji."

Shinji stopped a few feet away from her. Taking a deep breath to gather his courage up, he looked around. "This place is huge, don't you think, Rei? It's just like back home."

"No, its not, Shinji-chan. This place is not like home." Bringing her head down so she could look at him, she continued. "There is no feeling of oppression here. Also I have yet to see any wall not painted or decorated in some way or other. It's just not depressing enough to be like home… Not like home at all," she finished as she shook he head, causing yet another rogue lock to fall into her sight.

Shinji's mouth dropped open in surprise. 'Did I hear her right?'

"Why do you look at me so, Shinji?" she paused as she once again brushed the lock away. "Can I not have feelings of depression because of the surrounding environment?"

"Sorry," he mumbled as he quickly shut his mouth and walked over and sat down beside her. "It's not that, Rei. It's just… It's just that… I think that's one of the longest things you've ever said. That, and the fact that you called me Shinji-chan, not Ikari or just plain Shinji."

Turning a deep red color, Rei looked away, trying to hide her blush. "Did I? I am sorry; perhaps the Feia bel is rubbing off on me."

Seeing the look of embarrassment on Rei's face, Shinji gently picked up her hand, causing the girl in question to meet his gaze, surprised by the sudden skin contact. "Its ok, Rei, I liked the sound of it coming from you." 'Oh my god, what did I just say?' he turned his own shade of red and looked away, trying to conceal his face, missing the identical expression on the Rei's face. "I think… what I'm trying to say is… you can call me that any time you want, Rei-chan."

"…Thank you, I will."

At that, both looked up at the sky, losing themselves in their own thoughts, both completely forgetting that they were still holding hands.

From a nearby concealed spot, the Ryuf and Feia bel looked on at the two teenagers.

"They look just like we did, Rei-chan," the Ryuf commented sentimentally.

The Feia bel shook her head in disagreement. "No, my heart's fire, not like us. They look better together then we did at that age." Leaning over, she kissed him softly. A kiss he returned. "Yes, better than we did."

**- Several hours' later, outside Ryuf Ikari's office - **

Shinji and Rei were sitting in the foyer outside the office of Ryuf Ikari. It was decorated with a soothing motif in mind, with its light blue chairs, light brown stained desk and tables, and a carpet that contained an easy pattern of roses woven throughout it. Even the plants and the paintings on the wall, various landscapes some obviously not earthly in origin, helped to complete the atmosphere of peace. On the whole, a room that was designed to minimize, or emphasize, the one feature of the room not designed with peace in mind: A pair of large double doors done in a dark wood that stood majestically on the far wall. A very ornate carving of the half maple leaf symbol, the same symbol seen on all the uniforms, dominated the center of the doors.

The writing was still difficult to read, but earlier Rei had asked what it said. She had been told that the writing was Abh in origin and meant "The Lord God of Heaven has judged mankind, and has found him to be worthy of life."

The entrance of four people shattered the peace of the foyer. They were made up of two women, a man, and a young boy of about three years old. The adults were all wearing uniforms. Both the older man and the older of the women had green piping. Theirs were just the same as the uniforms Shinji and Rei had been given, while the younger woman's piping was red.

"Are you sure that you don't know why the Ryuf called for us?" the younger woman, about seventeen by Shinji's guess, asked.

"No, Mari, I don't know why," the man started as he looked around. Stopping at Shinji and Rei, he continued, "But I might know why we," he indicated the older woman, "were called." Stepping closer to the children, he looked them over. He looked like he was going to start yelling, when he suddenly got a very puzzled look on his face. Turning around abruptly, he walked back over to the older woman, who was trying to hold the squirming three year-old to no avail.

Trying to speak softly, and failing due to the noise coming from the child, he queried, "Dear, those two kids look familiar to you? I know that they aren't in any of my classes, but I know I've seen them somewhere before. Are they in any of your classes?"

Giving them a glance, she replied, "No they're not in any of mine either. But you're right, they do look familiar."

The younger girl, who had been trying to get information from the secretary, turned and looked back at the kids herself. "Hey bro, they look like those kids in your old pictures taken during the Angel War."

"HUH?" Shinji, Rei, and the two older adults half-shouted in unison. The temporary shocked status of the adults gave the three year-old enough of a leeway to break free and take off. He made a beeline straight to Rei, and holding his arms up while opening and closing his tiny fists, said, "I hold you, Auntie Fay Bella, I hold you."

Giving the child, an impassive stare, she stated matter-of-factly in her quiet voice, "I am not the Feia bel."

"I hold you," he repeated more forcefully, all the while giving her a stare of childish impatience.

"I'm sorry about that," the older woman gushed as she walked over to pick up the child. "Yuri doesn't usually go over to strangers. By the way, I'm Commander Hikari Suzuhara, and that's my husband Commander Toji Suzuhara," she said as she pointed at the older man. "Are you two new student pilots?"

"No ma'am, we are already pilots," Rei answered.

Hikari gave her a quizzical look, but before she could ask her next question, Shinji started. "What she means is that we were trained off world. We just got here a couple of, uh, days ago." Shinji stood up and bowed. "I'm, ah, Pilot Ikari and this is, uhm, Pilot Ayanami. We're, ah, relatives of the Ryuf and Feia bel," Shinji, who was never really good at lying, stuttered out.

Touji walked over and held out a hand. "Is that so? Well, pilots, welcome to Nerv Castle." He said as he took Shinji's hand. Shinji noticed that the hand he was holding didn't feel quite right, and so looked down inquisitively. "Oh, sorry, wrong hand," and quickly switched hands. "I lost that in the War." He smiled and placed it behind his head, as he started to laugh in an attempt to cover up his embarrassment.

"I'm…" Shinji started, but was interrupted by the secretary who announced, "The Ryuf will see you all now."

Everyone turned and bowed to her before replying, "Thank you."

As soon as the doors started to swing open, Yuri was running toward them like a bat out of hell, screeching with joy. Shinji and Rei walked right after the boy; the young woman named Mari in turn fell in line behind them. Touji and Hikari were a little slower in following. Before they reached the doors, Touji stopped. "Hikari, I didn't think Shinji and Rei had any relatives. Especially since Rei is… you know?" he asked as he shrugged his broad shoulders.

"I'm sure they had a reason to lie, if that's what they did."

"But what if they are lying? Shinji would be devastated. That is if he does believe their lies."

"We don't know what's going on, so let's just play this by ear. Maybe there's something going on that we don't know about."

"I hate secrets," Touji mumbled under his breath as he and Hikari entered the office. "And Nerv, sometimes, has way too many of them."

**- Ryuf Ikari's Office - **

The Ryuf's office could have been considered a study in contrast. Shinji could tell that the office was huge, but everything seemed to be placed as if to make it seem small. The dark colored ceiling and floor seemed to press in while the ceiling's recessed lighting and glowing representation of the Sephirothic Tree helped push it back up so as to give the impression of looking into the night sky. The black marble floor gave the impression that they were walking on a frozen ink-black lake. The large white rug, woven with the Nerv Crest, which was placed strategically in the middle of the room, helped to reinforce this impression.

Ryuf Ikari was seated in his large chair, his feet casually resting on the top of his desk. His attention was focused on a large display case to his right. The display case contained several items, but the most noticeable of them was a human skull, and a pair of broken glasses, which rested just in front of it.

As everyone approached the Ryuf stopped his staring, and placed his feet back on the floor. He let out a smile as Yuri ran up and jumped into his lap.

After giving the Ryuf a quick hug, Yuri asked, "Where Min-chan?"

"Minagi is in the back playroom," The Ryuf answered sweetly.

"Me go?" Yuri asked looking back and forth pleadingly from his parents to the Ryuf.

"I have no problem with that. Minagi might enjoy the company."

"That's fine, dear, go have fun," answered Hikari.

Jumping down from his perch on the Ryuf's lap, Yuri again let out a screech of joy and ran to a door in the back of the room. As he approached the door swung open, and children's music could be heard coming from the room beyond.

"Min-chan," Yuri yelled as he ran into the room, "I play with you." As soon as Yuri had finished entering the door closed behind him, cutting any further conversation off from the office.

Shinji and Rei looked quizzically at the Ryuf. Seeing the confusion on their faces, he answered the unspoken question. "Minagi is my and Feia bel's daughter." Shinji's eyes got as big as saucers, and was about to say something when Rei nudged him slightly with her elbow. He muttered a quick, "Sorry," and looked down at the floor.

Touji, Hikari, and Mari all bowed their heads in respect to the Ryuf. Hikari glanced over to Shinji and Rei and started to glare at them when they didn't follow suit right away. Shinji noticed this and started to bow his head immediately.

"Rise; there is no need for the formality here," the Ryuf stated as he turned to look at them.

Touji was the first to approach the desk. When he reached it he leaned over and said, "Shinji, it's been a while. I think our children see more of each other than we do," as they clasped hands.

The Ryuf stood up, as five chairs arose from the floor. "Too true, my friend. Too true." Indicating the chairs, he continued, "Please, sit."

As they all sat down the Ryuf began, "As I'm sure that you all are eager to know why I called you, I'll get right to the point. My relatives are trapped here for the time being. As we are working on the problem of getting them home, I feel that we might be able to make use of their talents and experience until then. With that in mind, Touji, Hikari, I'm asking you to work with them in training the new pilots. That is until they are able to go home."

Hikari and Touji looked at each other, and shrugged their shoulders in a non-committal fashion. Hikari turned back and asked, "What's the problem with getting them home?"

"Let's just say that it's a complicated situation at the moment. Also, even though they are young, they both have actual combat experience that might come in handy in the near future."

"I didn't know we were fighting anywhere. Where did they get it from?" Hikari asked.

"I'm sorry, but that isn't something I can go into here and at the moment."

Toji leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. He stared up, trying to hide his anger at not being told the big secret. 'Damn secrets again.'

The Ryuf looked over to Mari and started. "Mari, I have a two-fold job for you. I ask that you look out for them. Show them around the city; help them get settled in their new apartment, sort of act like their guardian in matters concerning their new school. Above all, I want you to keep them safe. If something were to happen to them… Well let's just say that something bad might happen to us all."

Mari stood up and bowed deeply to the Ryuf. "I will protect them with my life if need be, Feia Luel."

"I am truly confident that you will, Mari."

Finally the Ryuf turned and faced Shinji and Rei. "Well, is that alright with you both? I know its short notice asking you to work with us, but do you think it will be a problem?"

"No," they responded in unison.

"Good, Good. Thank you." Clapping his hands together and then rubbing them, he continued. "Well, I think that concludes the business at hand." As everyone stood up, the Ryuf said to Hikari, "If you want, you can leave Yuri here. I'm sure Minagi and Yuri will love to be able to spend more time together. We'll drop him off later, if that's okay? It will give you two time alone," the Ryuf finished as he smiled.

"That would be great, thank you."

As everyone started to walk away, the Ryuf called out. "Rei, Shinji, please be careful you two, okay?"

Touji stopped in his tracks and yelled, "WHAT? You two have the same names as the Ryuf and Feia bel?"

Rei looked at him blankly for a second before she replied both him and the Ryuf. "Yes, sir."

Walking over to Touji the Ryuf leaned over and whispered, "We'll talk about this more later, my friend, in private. Okay?"

"You're damn right, we will," Touji said as he took the Ryuf's hand and gave it a quick shake. "Till then, Shinji." With that they all finished departing.

"Just great another problem to deal with," the Ryuf sighed as the door closed.

**- Again, back home, EVA Cages -**

Asuka jumped out of her entry plug as soon as it opened. 'How dare they treat me like that?' she mentally fumed. Rushing down to the catwalk, she approached the first technician in her path. "Where are those two Eva Units and their pilots?" she demanded.

Without looking up from his task, the technician answered, "The Evangelion units are over there in cages six and seven. I don't know where the pilots are. Try asking the crew chiefs for those cages."

"Hmph," Asuka snorted as she walked away, heading in the direction of her Eva's crew chief.

As she approached he quickly put down the radio he was talking into. "Miss Soryu, how may I be of service to you?"

"You can tell me where the other pilots are for starters."

"Ummm, I don't think that Mr. Ikari or Miss Ayanami, have returned yet, ma'am," he replied as he scratched the side of his face.

Taking a step forward, she leaned dangerously close into his face. "Don't play dumb with me, Chief. You know whom I'm asking about, but if you don't then here it is. Where are the two new Eva pilots?"

Unit 02's crew chief leaned as far back as he could and answered, "As far as I know they grabbed some gear from their units and headed for the locker room."

Patting him on the cheek, Asuka smiled sweetly and purred, "Now that wasn't so difficult now, was it?" Standing up, she flipped her hair back proudly and walked off towards the locker room.

'I feel sorry for whoever they are. She is one pissed off B!#$H!' Letting out a deep sigh and wiping the sweat from his forehead, he said aloud, "Oh well, not my problem." Looking out at his crew he started yelling, "Hey you slackers, get back to work!"

**- Locker Room - **

Asuka slammed open the door, and stormed in, ready to hurt the first person she saw. Unfortunately for her, or rather fortunately for the pilots, no one was there. The only things sitting in the room were two shrink-wrapped Nerv uniforms and two black and grey plug suits thrown haphazardly into the wash bin.

"Where are they?" Asuka growled as she looked around. In answer to her question she heard two showers turn on, and a thin stream of steam flowed out of the entrance to the shower stalls. "Ha, got them trapped." Grinning, she stripped out of her plug suit, throwing it on top of the other two before storming into the showers.

There standing under the flowing water were two girls. They appeared to be the same age as Asuka, and might have been sisters, due to how much they looked alike. The only major difference that Asuka could tell from her angle was the hair. One had dark blue colored hair and the other had a red color very similar to Asuka's.

"ALRIGHT YOU TWO," Asuka screamed. "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!"

Stopping in the midst of their conversation, both girls looked curiously at her. The red haired girl's eyes widened slightly, and her mouth dropped open. But nothing came out. The blue haired girl, seeing that the other wasn't going to answer, did so. "Ahm, no… should we? Are you a new pilot or something?"

"YES, I'm a pilot. I'm the best pilot this place has," Asuka retorted arrogantly.

"Yeah… Okay… Well nice to meet you. I'm Minagi and my shell-shocked friend here is Teri."

Throwing her hands up in frustration Asuka yelled, "Who the hell cares about that? I want to know where you two come off treating me like a servant!"

"We did?" Teri asked, finally finding her voice. "I'm sorry if that was the impression that you got. I didn't mean it that way."

Not even listening, Asuka placed her hands on her hips, and fired off another question. "Where are Wonder Girl and Baka-boy Shinji?"

"Umm…" Teri started as she placed her finger on her chin. "I think Dad should be at the command center, but I don't know any Wonder Girl." Turning towards Minagi, she asked. "Do you?"

"No… No Wonder Girl."

Finally catching something through her anger-clouded mind, Asuka stopped for a second, then started again. "I asked about Shinji, not your Dad."

Teri and Minagi turned and looked at each other than turned back to Asuka and said in perfect unison. "Shinji is our Dad."

Minagi then continued. "We have different mothers, of course."

Asuka was stunned but managed to get out, "Okay, I'll bite. Who's your mother then?"

Growing an evil smile on her face, Minagi said, "My mother is the great beauty Rei Ayanami."

"Get real. Beautiful, that hag." Teri interrupted. "She's nothing compared to mine."

Still stunned by what she was hearing, she didn't think about her next question before she asked it. "Okay, and who is yours?"

Teri threw up one arm and struck a pose. "I'm glad you asked. I'm the daughter of the most beautiful woman on the planet. The great Asuka Langley Soryu-Ikari."

At this Asuka's mouth dropped open, and she was just barely able to get out, "But I don't have a daughter," before she fell to the floor and passed out cold.

Teri and Minagi, walked over to the passed out Asuka. Teri turning to Minagi asked, "Do you think it was something we said?"

Shrugging her shoulders Minagi turned back to the showers and said "Could be, you never know about some people." She then started to finish her shower, evil grin and all still in place. 'This is going to be fun.'

**- Outside Commander Ikari's office - **

Yui Ikari was very confused, and when she was confused, she got mad, and when she was mad she wanted to either break something or kill someone. So you could say that Yui was down right livid at what was happening, and the way she figured it, the person currently in "her" office was going to be a very dead man.

"When will I be allowed into my office, goon?" Through clenched teeth, Yui asked one of the two Section 2 agents standing at the door.

"I don't know, ma'am. I'm only following orders."

Turning to the secretary seated behind the reception desk, she asked, "What is the holdup?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we're currently waiting for your pilots to be escorted up here," the secretary replied.

As if on queue, the outer door opened, and in walked Teri and Minagi, followed quickly by a still stunned Asuka. All three were dressed in black NERV uniforms with blue and white pipings. Teri and Minagi walked up to Yui and saluted. "Commander," both declared in unison.

Turning to look at them, she smiled and returned their salute. "Girls, glad to see both of you are okay." Looking over the girls shoulders Yui spotted Asuka standing there with a very confused look on her face. "So, tell me, who's the new girl?"

Teri was the first to answer. "I don't know, Grams. She stormed into the showers and started screaming and demanding to know who we were. So we told her. Then she passed out. After we woke her up and got dressed all she said was, "I don't have a daughter." Over and over again…"

"To make a long story short, we don't know, but there was a uniform in a locker, and she did say she was a pilot," Minagi finished.

"That's weird; I don't remember any new pilots," Yui stated as started to tap her chin with her finger. "Which Unit was she in?"

"Well grandma, she seemed to be piloting Unit 02, but I really didn't pay much attention because of everything else going on," Minagi reported

Quirking an eyebrow, a confused look crossed Yui's face as she said, "Huh… That can't be right, Unit 02 shouldn't work. It hasn't worked in years. The last person it did work for was Asuka, and she doesn't pilot anymore." Grabbing her hair with both hands, Yui continued. "AARRRGGGHHHH, what the hell is going on here?"

Like a blast form the past an older sounding male voice broke into the three-way conversation with, "That's what I would like to find out also, Yui."

Turning to face the direction of the voice, Yui saw four people entering. All four looked familiar. Three of them looked a lot younger than she had last seen, one only a couple of hours before. Two of the others she hadn't seen for a couple of weeks. The fourth was someone she could have sworn she had killed herself many years before.

Fuyutsuki strode into the room, followed in turn by Misato, Ritsuko, and Maya.

"Professor? What are you doing here? And why do you all look so young? And what is she doing alive?" Yui asked in a confused voice, pointing at Ritsuko.

Grabbing Yui in a hug, Fuyutsuki whispered in a calming voice, "Yui, I'm glad to see you again. I'm sure we will figure out what's going on."

"Excuse me, but you call go in now," the secretary announced.

Letting go of his favorite student, Fuyutsuki stepped back. "After you."

Teri, thinking out loud, uttered out dramatically, "Now, for what's behind door number one." Stopping as she was about to take a step, she turned to Minagi. "Did I say that out loud?"

"Yes, you did."

"Darn it, my internal monologue must be turned off."

"You don't say?"

"See, I told ya."

Giving Teri a light push in the right direction, all the while shaking her head, Minagi grabbed Asuka's wrist and pulled her along. "I guess you should come along too."

With that they all entered the office of one Commander Ikari.

To be continued…

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Author's Notes

Wow, chapter three finally done. Sorry to all of you who are waiting for the expected Yui/Gendo showdown but you'll have to wait until the next chapter. First thing I promise… Well, maybe.

I want to thank all of you who have reviewed so far. And hopefully you can stick with me until this story is done. No idea how long from now that will be yet.

So here is bit of fun I wrote

Omake (taken partly from a thread on the Tales of Apartment 402 forums)

Turning to face to the direction of the voice, Yui saw four people entering. All four looked familiar. Three of them looked a lot younger than she had last seen, one only a couple of hours before. Two of the others she hadn't seen for a couple of weeks. The fourth was someone she could have sworn she had killed herself many years before.

Fuyutsuki entered the room followed in turn by Misato, Ritsuko, and Maya.

Yui screamed and pointed a finger at Ritsuko. "I KILLED YOU! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!"

Teri turned to see what was going on, screamed herself. "AHHH! The dead walk!"

Ritsuko, all color drained from her face, raised her arms in a classic zombie pose as she started shuffling forward towards Yui. The doctor began to lisp, "Brains… Brains… Must eat brains…"

Pulling a lighted torch from behind her back, Minagi shoved it in Ritsuko's direction saying, "One good thing about the dead: They burn well."

Asuka snapped out of her funk and quickly pulled out a knife and fork, stating, "And some taste like chicken too," while smacking her lips in hunger.

Not to be left out of the fun, Misato pulled out her own knife and fork, uttering, "Nah, the dead taste like pork."

Suddenly with a bright flash the scene changes into a dinning room. There is a snappy theme song playing in the background. Fuyutsuki is now dressed in casual clothes with an apron over them. In his hand he holds a large carving knife. Lying on a large silver dish on the table is Ritsuko with a large red apple stuffed in her mouth.

Turning to face the camera, Fuyutsuki starts speaking like Carlton Heston. "Dead human, the other, other white meat, it tastes great at any occasion. Check your local supermarkets meat or freezer section today."

Turning to Maya, now also dressed in casual wear and holding up a cracker box with the words Soylent Green written on it, he continues, "And for those of you on diets and don't want to miss out on the great flavor, try our wafer formula, Soylent Green."

Maya then picks up a bottle of an unknown red frothy liquid, and says, "For those on the go, and need that great human taste, we offer our newest formula, the LCL Shake."

Both stepping closer to the camera, Fuyutsuki starts, "Remember it's just not food…" Maya then finishes the line, "Its family." Together they point at the camera and declare, "Gets yours today while stocks last."

The scene goes dark and the snappy theme music fades.

Turning off the TV, Shinji and Rei look at each other. Shinji shrugs his shoulders and says, "Man, the commercials people come up with nowadays." He then rubs his stomach and continues, "But ya know, now I'm hungry. You, Rei?"

Rei presses her lips together and makes a smacking sound. "Yes, yes I am. What do you have to eat?"

"I think we have a little Naoko leftover."

"Yum. Do you happen to have any Soylent Green and LCL to wash it all down with?"

"Don't know, let's look."

Both children jump up and walk into the kitchen.

END

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AN: OMG I don't believe I just wrote this. Please no flames about the Omake at least.

Thanks for reading

Dean

From the pre-reader: My most sincere apologies regarding the lateness of this chapter. I was bitten by the Real Life bug and had to be hospitalized.


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